Stormers outclass Cavaliers

Sound cover defence by Boland held out a possible first-minute try by the Stormers but a rolling maul two minutes later close to the tryline provided a platform for tighthead Frans Malherbe to score.

Flyhalf Burton Francis, the former Bulls and Lions pivot, converted to give the Stormers a 7-0 lead.

Stormers halfback Bolla Conradie was in fine nick at the base of the scrum and after he sniped through the Boland defence for his try he set up a raid which led to a penalty try for the Stormers, with Francis converting both attempts for a 21-0 lead after 17 minutes of play.

Boland staged a gallant fightback which saw them take play up to the Stormers four times in a 16-minute passage of play. However, Boland could not finish to claim reward for their efforts.

Four minutes ahead of the break, the Stormers sprung a counter-attack from deep and following superb handling as they swept downfield, right wing Danie Poolman scored a converted try (28-0).

Boland managed to keep the ball alive after the half-time hooter sounded and finally cracked the Stormers defence as centre Jonathan Francke crashed over, with flyhalf Ricardo Croy converting to take the first-half score to 28-7.

The hosts started the second half with the same fervour as they displayed in the closing stages with a second try in the 47th minute when eighthman and captain Junior Bester dotted down and Croy adding the conversion (28-14).

The Stormers made their first second-half foray into the Boland 22m area with a try by Rohan Kitshoff.

Substitute flyhalf Kurt Coleman hashed his conversion attempt (33-14).

As both teams made wholesale substitutions the game lost a great deal of momentum in the final 20 minutes as the replacements battled to strike cohesion.

The Stormers, however, were mostly in control in the final stages with eighthman Nizaam Carr crashing over in the 67th minute with Coleman goaled for a 40-14 lead.

Towards the end the Stormers upped the tempo as their game flourished with several late hand-to-hand sorties, one of which resulted in an unconverted try by replacement hooker Tiaan Liebenberg in the final minute.

Scorers:

Boland Cavaliers: Tries: Jonathan Francke and Junior Bester.

Conversions: Ricardo Croy (2).

Stormers: Tries: Frans Malherbe, Bolla Conradie, penalty try, Danie Poolman, Rohan Kitshoff, Nizaam Carr and Tiaan Liebenberg.

Conversions: Burton Francis (4) and Kurt Coleman.